Kay Biby owns Showhomes Jacksonville with her husband Jim. They live inthe 7,000-square-foot Deerwood Estate they are managing.By Cristin Wilson

If you’re not careful, you could easily miss the riverfront estate that retired Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer Marva Watkins calls home.

The 5,000-square-foot, three-story house is tucked away down a long wooded driveway behind iron gates.

Watkins, who has been in the home since April, said she still believes it’s all too good to be true. She has a place with river views, a Jacuzzi, an inground pool and an elevator.

And she’s paying a bargain $1,300 a month. Some apartments cost more than that, she notes.

“I was amazed. My highest mortgage once was $3,800 a month [the former home she was buying] and it wasn’t waterfront and there was no swimming pool,” she said.

So how did she do it?

Watkins is a home manager for McInnes Staging and Home Management. Laura McInnes works with real estate agents selling luxury properties and offers to stage their homes.

Staging comes with two options for people like Watkins. In traditional staging, she will de-clutter and decorate and make sure the home is in model condition.

The other option, the one in which Watkins participates, is the home manager program for luxury properties. Watkins is one of 12 home managers with whom McInnes works. The managers bring their nice furnishings and accessories, appoint the home and live in it until it sells.

There is no fee to the seller for this service, and the home managers generally pay half of what market rates would be to rent a similar property. The money doesn’t go to the seller, but to the staging company.

McInnes said none of her higher-end properties — she classifies those as being around the half-million-dollar mark and up — have opted to go with traditional staging. Depending on the home, fees charged to the seller for traditional staging by her company can be anywhere from a few hundred dollars a month to $3,000 a month.

As well as paying the fee to live in the property, home managers like Watkins are responsible for the upkeep of the pool, the landscaping and power and cable bills, for example. There is also no smoking and no parties are allowed.

Depending on the company, the managers either move themselves and their possessions, or get help moving clothes and accessories.

McInnes said all of the sellers she has dealt with in the two years that she’s had her business love this modified staging arrangement.

It’s a win-win-win-win situation — for the sellers, the staging companies, the Realtors and the home managers. But there are downsides.

Once the home sells, home managers have anywhere from 30 to 45 days to vacate. But, McInnes said, in the luxury home market, it takes close to nine months on average for a home to sell.

GREAT SITUATION

Buzz Thomas has been a home manager for the past five years. He’s currently working with Showhomes Jacksonville.

One of the best things for him, Thomas said, is that he’s had an opportunity to live in some of the area’s most prestigious neighborhoods. He’s currently getting settled into his Queens Harbour home after living in a condo in Epping Forest.

Thomas said the contract he signed won’t allow him to disclose how much he pays to live in the properties, but he did say it’s easily 50 percent to 70 percent off what it would be if the home were on the market as a rental.

Thomas became involved in the program after selling his home. At the time, he wasn’t sure if he was going to stay in the area or relocate.

The condo was perfect for him, he said.

“My favorite spot? I woke up every morning with my windows open to the river,” he said.

FEELS LIKE HOME

Jim and Kaye Biby have owned Showhomes Jacksonville since 2006, but the franchise has been in the area for the past 16 years. Like McInnes, the Bibys also do traditional staging; that part of the business has increased as the housing market has improved.

The Bibys currently have 12 homes with home managers. But they said that if they had more managers, they could have even more homes. The idea is that popular.

The couple said it’s a fact that staged homes sell faster than empty ones.

“What we’re trying to do is slow [buyers] down so they’ll look at the house and envision themselves in it,” Kaye Biby said.

Realtor Dennelle Hickson agrees.

“You want to put your buyers in a position that when they walk in they feel like they’re at home already. Of course, you can’t feel at home in an empty house.”

There has been a 9.5 percent increase in the number of homes for sale during June 2014 compared to the same month a year ago, according to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors’ latest numbers. The median sales price for homes in the area is $168,000, which is almost 6 percent higher than a year ago.

Those numbers are no surprise to Realtor Sharon Mills.

“Overall, the market is definitely picking up,” she said. “We probably have less inventory than we’ve had in a long time.”

McInnes and the Bibys get their home managers from an initial online application. Both companies do background and credit checks and also ensure that the applicant has nice furniture and accessories to put in the home and is responsible, neat and tidy. Families are welcome, but messes are not acceptable.

Most of the time, Showhomes stages the entire house. McInnes’ home managers stage major areas such as living spaces, formal dining rooms, master bedrooms and any other room the owner requests.

If the managers need help staging the large house, the companies have warehouses full of furniture and accessories.

BUT BE READY

Since the home managers are living in properties that are for sale, the homes need to always be ready for showings. For properties that McInnes manages, the home managers will have at least two hours notice before a showing. McInnes said the average number of showings is one to two a week.

Not a problem for Watkins, who said if a Realtor calls, she’ll grab a book and go for a short drive.

Thomas, who also is a Realtor, said it’s a small inconvenience considering what you get in return.

“If you compare where you get to live and the type of home you get to live in, then making accommodations for the showings is well worth it,” he said.

McInnes added that while participants are paying considerably less to live in the homes, those considering the program still need to be aware that it’s not cheap.

Home managers are responsible for utilities, for example, that can easily cost hundreds of dollars a month for a 4,000-square-foot home. McInnes said the program probably is best for professionals who may be in transition.

“Being in our program gives you a chance to sample a lot of different communities and find a place that really suits you,” she said.

It might not appeal to many to have to move every eight months or so. But the companies usually have another home ready for the managers to move into.

Meanwhile, Watkins is getting settled in. The fountain at the house has been fixed, which gives her riverfront manse even more flair. Even though she knows this isn’t her permanent home, she’s planning to enjoy it for as long as she can.